.204 v. 223 v. 22-250

Longranger

We'll lads, as above, I need something for when the hmr is out if it's depth so I'm looking for a centrefire for foxes and long range bunnies(300 yd+) and I can't make my mind up. I'm leaning towards the. 223 on price but I can't get the other two out of my head! Amy opinions would be great as I will be looking to buy fairly soon. Cheers all.
OR

Cass

You really cannot beat the .223 for price, availability of guns and ammo, etc, etc. However you're going to get a crap load of posts now arguing about which is better. You have opened a door i thought we successfully closed a year ago.

The .204 seems to have better ballistics, but availability of both guns and ammo is not as good as the .223, plus in the end once you get used to a gun, how it performs you'll soon become proficient with either. The 22-250 is a nice caliber. A decent selection of guns available, and ammo seems a little more prolific than the .204, but again not as good as the .223. The beauty of the 22-250 is it's deer legal, but this can also be used as a reason for refusals by some Supers.

Anyway, i've been in too many of these to get dragged into the pages that may follow so i'll leave i to others to go at it.

customrifle

223 out to 300 yards is more than capable. Cheap to run and long barrel life. On the other hand 55gr v max for the 22-250 is much the same price as the same for 223. Maybe 1 or 2 euro between them per box but flatter down range and if your not letting the barrel get hot enough to cook an egg you ll easily get couple thousand rounds+ out off your barrel.
The 204 gets great reviews also so its a buyers market. If I was in your position id go for a tikka varmint or a remy vssf ii in 223 both cracking rifles and very accurate

allan450

what part of mayo ar you in

lefthooker

Oh jesus not this debate again:rolleyes:
Go for a .408 Cheytac, its surely twice as good as the .204:D



In all fairness all 3 calibres are equally capable and ammo for all should be readily available. If your RFD doesn't or won't stock ammo that says more about them than the calibre.
But .204 is my choice,

TriggerPL

Swift ?

Snakezilla

Been in this situation and have wrecked my brains for a long long time researching and trying to decide. Simple answer is that in this country , go .223
I could do up a list as long as your arm why but you'll just have to trust me on this one

yubabill1

+1 on 223.

Jack of all trades.

Cheap to run - you can buy cheap FMJ for rabbits, cheap HP's for fox plus you have a huge choice of premium ammo - PSP's, BT's, BTHP's and I've even seen Nosler Partitions in one Irish gundealer's.

Barrel lasts a long, long time, even if you heat it now and then.

If you have a gun and you want to shoot it regularly, it's a 223.

customrifle

TriggerPL wrote: »

Swift ?

Dont be suggesting the swift to people TriggerPL, we dont want people realizing how fantastic and overlooked the round is and buying up all the 55gr v max

Longranger

Thanks all, I'm going to go with my gut and stick with the .223 on the basis of price,ammo choice and the fact that I found a grand CZ 527 going for a very good price. I'll look at a. 204 when we can reload (so I'll never have one!).Sorry for opening up this barrel of serpents again but I needed to hear a few other viewpoints. Cheers again
LR

sniperman

Longranger wrote: »

Thanks all, I'm going to go with my gut and stick with the .223 on the basis of price,ammo choice and the fact that I found a grand CZ 527 going for a very good price. I'll look at a. 204 when we can reload (so I'll never have one!).Sorry for opening up this barrel of serpents again but I needed to hear a few other viewpoints. Cheers again
LR

thanks for asking the question in the first place,im in a similar situation,but the thing stopping me going for either calibre is shortage of land to use it on,my present permissions are grand for my hmr,with the lambing season here now,ill be asking a few lads about fox control,should i get a few new permissions with larger fields with suitable backstops etc,then ill also go for 223,i know hmr will take down a fox at reasonable range,but a 200-300 yrd fox would be out,thats where a 223 wins, i also would like to thank the lads for their advice and opinions;)

TriggerPL

customrifle wrote: »

Dont be suggesting the swift to people TriggerPL, we dont want people realizing how fantastic and overlooked the round is and buying up all the 55gr v max

Haha they don't know what there missing